


You'll be in my heart

by starkaryen



Category: Hannibal (TV), Tarzan - All Media Types
Genre: Biting, Cuddling & Snuggling, First Kiss, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Frottage, Hand Jobs, Happy Ending, Inspired by Art, Inspired by Tarzan, Just a little bit of Angst, Kissing, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Protectiveness, Sharing a Bed, Slow Burn, Tickling, alternative universe, and Atlantic, sort of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-31
Updated: 2017-02-05
Packaged: 2018-09-21 04:28:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 18,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9531518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starkaryen/pseuds/starkaryen
Summary: Will Graham is part of an expedition to study an unknown subspecies of gorillas, but he didn't expect to find an even more interesting creature.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [murdergatsby](https://archiveofourown.org/users/murdergatsby/gifts), [FlyingRotten](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlyingRotten/gifts).



> So, the idea for this was born in [this amazing thread](https://twitter.com/teacupsmasher/status/822765945105956864) by @teacupsmasher that soon followed Camille and I, and then Camille drew THESE AMAZING ARTS about the AU *screams forever*: [tweet 1](https://twitter.com/CamilleCailloux/status/822826991825063937) / [post 1](http://camilleflyingrotten.tumblr.com/post/156180845471/this-tarzan-au-originally-came-from-this-thread-on) / [tweet 2](https://twitter.com/CamilleCailloux/status/822900192949235712) / [post 2](http://nsfwingrotten.tumblr.com/post/156228105753/i-had-to-draw-smut-for-the-tarzan-au-x) (nsfw) / [tweet 3](https://twitter.com/CamilleCailloux/status/823234967174086656) / [Post 3](http://camilleflyingrotten.tumblr.com/post/156536445841/more-tarzan-au)
> 
> I tried to contain myself, but I just couldn't, so what started being a one-shot ended up being a +10k monster. It's almost finished, though, so I think I will update soon with the rest of the chapter :).
> 
> ALSO, this was born being a Tarzan/Milo (from Atlantic) AU with Hugh and Mads' faces, but when I sat down to write it, I just ended up using Will and Hannibal because it's what I'm used to. With this I want to say that they may not be exactly in character, and that's because I didn't write it focusing on Will and Hannibal's canon characters (although there might be some things from them in their personalities, of course).
> 
>  
> 
> EDIT for the fic [here](http://starkaryen.tumblr.com/post/156634698068/youll-be-in-my-heart-tarzan-au-for).  
>  
> 
> Thank you SO much to [Llewcie](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Llewcie/pseuds/Llewcie) and [FauxFidele](http://archiveofourown.org/users/FauxFidele/pseuds/FauxFidele) for reading and betaing, and to [levi163](http://archiveofourown.org/users/levi163) for encouraging me to publish this in the end (because this was going to remain in the shadows).

This was one of the things that nobody ever thought about until you were here, in the middle of the jungle, washing shirts on the bank of the river. Doing the laundry, washing the plates after eating every meal because you had to use the same for the next meal, washing the sheets, cleaning dead mosquitoes out of everywhere… Those were simply things you didn’t consider when preparing for a trip like this. And Will certainly was prepared for those things, but as everyone else, he had never considered how much time of his day he’d lose doing these chores.

He sighed in frustration as he scrubbed the smear of mud from the white cloth, and suddenly he heard a crack behind him. He turned and scanned the bushes behind him, but nothing was moving. He had decided to come here alone in a burst of boldness, but he shook his head and told himself there wasn’t anything. That part of the jungle was mostly safe. _Mostly_.

He returned to washing the shirt, but not even five minutes later he clearly heard the crack again. He dropped the shirt while turning around, this time with his heart drumming in his chest. He tried to discern something through the bushes, but the leaves where thick, and he couldn’t see anything. When he stayed still for a couple of minutes and nothing came out, he thought it must’ve been a small animal. Maybe a monkey, or a rodent…

Will picked up the shirt again and that’s when a blur came out of the bushes. He didn’t even have time to scream or get up, only to fall backwards onto his ass, half in the river. As soon as he saw who was in front of him, he sat up and threw the wet shirt at him, even though he caught it effortlessly before it hit his face.

“You asshole! You scared me!”

Hannibal was in front of him, crouched, chest puffed out and a grin splitting his face in two, proud of his own joke. Will huffed out and rolled his eyes, not wanting to let him know that he was actually amused, and maybe still a little proud that Hannibal was comfortable enough to play with him.

Will got up and looked at his now half-soaked undershirt and pants. He groaned because he’d have to wash those too, but he decided he had done enough laundry for a day.

“Ass… hole?”

Will looked up to find Hannibal gazing at him with his head tilted and a little smirk on his lips. It was the face that he had when he was curious about something.

“Oh, shit. No, forget that.”

“Asshole?” Hannibal repeated.

“Yeah, that. Stop that… no,” Will said, shaking his head.

“No,” Hannibal said, and Will nodded as if to tell him he had understood.

Hannibal stood up then, and Will’s breath caught in his throat. It didn’t matter how many times he witnessed this, the savage man standing up from his usual posture to a more human one… It always left him breathless.

He had to avert his eyes from his complete and utter nakedness, focusing on his face instead as he blushed. Hannibal took a hunched step towards him and offered him the now ruined shirt Will had been washing.

“No?”

Will looked at the shirt and smiled as he took it.

“It’s okay.”

“Upset?” Hannibal asked.

Will’s smiled broadened; he had taught Hannibal that word a week ago, when Hannibal had completely destroyed one of his books, tearing every page. When Will had entered his tent and found the mess, he had shouted at him, and then regretted it immediately at seeing Hannibal’s confused expression that gave way to a defensive growl. When both of them calmed down, Will tried to explain to him why he had been _upset_ , and that books were not meant to be destroyed, but to be read, to learn with them. Will hadn’t been sure whether Hannibal had understood all the words, but he apparently had retained more than he thought. It was amazing how intelligent he was…

“No, not upset. It’s okay. It was… a little funny,” he finally admitted, and Hannibal gave him again a toothy smile.

On the way to the camp after picking up everything, Will observed Hannibal as he jumped from tree to tree above his head. He smiled and thought of how much progress he had made since he had first found that savage man in the middle of the jungle. Will had lost the rest of the expedition and learnt first-hand that baboons were not _that_ friendly when Will tried to get close to get a photo of one of them and they turned crazy. The wild creature that had rescued him from the baboons and taken him to a broad branch of a tree, staring at him wide-eyed as if Will had three arms, was not the man swinging from a vine now. He was still more a wild animal than human, and he was only comfortable around Will, disappearing as soon as any other member of the expedition was nearby - which was why Will had set a small camp a little away from the rest of the expedition, that being the only way to keep learning from Hannibal as he tried to teach him as much as the man allowed him to – but despite that, he was learning so, so much.

When Will made it back to the camp, he suddenly became aware that Hannibal wasn’t behind or above him anymore. He frowned and left the pile of clean clothes on a rudimentary table he had assembled to be able to write there.

“Will?”

Jack’s voice startled him, and Will turned to the spot in the foliage that was cleared for him to go to the rest of the expedition’s camp, or the other way around, as right now. Jack straightened, panting a little from the heat and the walk, and looked around everywhere except to Will with seeking eyes.

“You know he probably won’t show up while you’re here,” Will reminded him, crossing his arms over his chest.

Jack stopped looking around and sighed as he locked his dark eyes on Will.

“And you know this isn’t a sustainable situation. Not for too long, Will,” he said, and Will looked away, fighting the need to roll his eyes. “You _know_ they want results, and they want them now. We’re here to study and learn.”

“And aren’t we doing that?”

“Yes! But only _you_ can see the main attraction!” Jack said, and Will felt his blood burning inside him.

They had had this conversation a million times. Jack and Beverly had seen Hannibal once very briefly when he hadn’t hid fast enough, and Will had shown them pictures, and still he pretended like he didn’t fully believe in his existence, as if that way Will would make Hannibal show himself in front of everyone so they could see him.

“I’ve told you, I will _not_ force him to show himself if he doesn’t want to.”

“Will, he’s a savage, and you’re denying science what could be the next great discovery!”

“This is a man what you’re talking about, raised in the jungle or not. He’s not a thing you can collect and exhibit,” Will barked, and he regretted it immediately. “I’m sorry, but we’ve had this conversation before. I am not going to force him.”

Will turned around to go into his tent, but in that moment Jack’s hand closed around his wrist, and so he looked at him again.

“You have to do something, or I swear to you, this expedition will be canceled.”

Will opened his mouth to answer, but before he could say anything, he heard a thud beside him, and a second later Hannibal was leaping on Jack. He threw him backwards and Jack landed on the ground, on his back. Hannibal was standing over him on all four, teeth bared and an animalistic growl warning Jack not to move at all, which is what he did.

“Shit!” Will said when his brain processed the situation. “H- Hannibal…?”

The wild man didn’t move at all, so Will circled them to have a better angle of his face. He crouched beside him and raised both hands in a peaceful gesture.

“Hannibal, please stop. No,” he said, and that word seemed to catch Hannibal’s attention, who looked at Will out of the corner of his eye. “Don’t _hurt_ him. No.”

“No?” Hannibal asked, and Will saw how the hold of his fist around Jack’s shirt loosened visibly.

“No… Come here, come on,” he said, beckoning him to get closer.

Hannibal looked one last time at Jack, who was wide-eyed on the ground, almost not breathing, and finally let go of the man and crawled away, getting close to Will but not looking away from Jack, as if he expected the man to make another move. Will got up as Jack sat up slowly, looking between him and Hannibal as he breathed heavily. Will wasn’t sure if he was more shocked to be in front of Hannibal, or because of the attack.

“Jack, go back to the camp,” Will told him.

Jack nodded without another word, and very slowly, he got up. When he straightened too quickly, Hannibal let out a warning low growl and Jack tripped backwards before leaving through the path he had arrived through.

As soon as he was out of his sight, Will deflated. He went straight into his tent and sat on the edge of the thin mattress, elbows on his thighs and head between his hands. He breathed deeply in and out with his eyes closed, and tried not to think about what Jack had told him. He tried not to think about what would happen if Jack decided to cancel the expedition and he would have to go back to USA, back to his previous life…

He heard the door of the tent flapping, and Will opened his eyes to find Hannibal crouched in front of him, his features now calm.

Will observed the long, ashen hair of the man falling over the sides of his face and cascading over his shoulders, he observed the thick, greying hair of his beard. He wondered once again how old the man would be, how much time exactly he had spent here, in this jungle, with no human contact at all. Will had tried to guess his age before and had failed, because his behavior was childish at times, very mature at others, and his skin was strangely smooth for someone who looked older than Will and had lived in the wild all his life.

Hannibal got even closer to Will’s legs and looked at him.

“Bad?” Hannibal asked, and for a second Will wasn’t sure if he meant Jack. But Hannibal was talking about himself, about what he had done.

Will parted his lips to answer, but he closed them again. _What_ should he answer? How could he explain to him that it was bad because he didn’t want Hannibal to get in trouble, not because he cared about what Hannibal could’ve done to Jack in that moment? How could he explain to him that he was moved and grateful for Hannibal to defend him, but it was still wrong?

Will felt the tears gathering at the back of his eyes, and he huffed out and shook his head, feeling helpless.

“Will upset?” Hannibal asked, and Will looked up at that.

“No! No, I’m not upset.”

Will forced himself to smile to show him that he wasn’t. Hannibal stared at him for a few seconds, and then put both hands on the mattress and climbed onto it until he was sitting beside him, imitating Will’s posture. Hannibal had been inside Will’s tent before, and his endless curiosity had taken him to touch everything, try the bed, sit on the chair outside… There was nothing Hannibal wasn’t curious about. But he didn’t have his usual playful and curious look in his eyes in that moment. He seemed to be there simply _for_ Will.

“Okay?” Hannibal asked, and Will chuckled, this time honestly.

“I don’t know…” he said, even though he wasn’t sure Hannibal would understand.

“Hungry?” the man asked then.

Will shook his head, remembering the wide collection of fruits Hannibal had brought him the time he had explained to him what the word was.

“Tired?” Hannibal kept trying, and he accompanied the word with the gesture Will had taught him for sleeping, with his two palms joined together and his face leaned into the back of his right hand.

Will was about to deny it, but he did feel tired, more tired than he had been in a long time.

“A little,” he said.

Hannibal suddenly got up from the bed, and Will sat up, alarmed. Hannibal stood straight and pointed at the bed.

“Sleep, now!” he said, apparently cheerful at having found a solution for Will’s problem.

Will smiled and nodded. “You know what? You’re right.”

Will knew he had a lot of things to do; he had to hang his washed clothes, he had to prepare his lunch, keep writing his journal and perhaps go to the camp to try to calm Jack… But he really didn’t want to. Instead, he took his still damp shirt and pants off and put on his last clean and dry pair of pants and another undershirt and got under the covers.

When he lay down and sighed, Hannibal went back to his crouching position and approached the side of the bed. He stayed there, half sitting on the floor of the tent and looking at Will.

“I don’t want to go…” Will confessed in a whisper, and Hannibal tilted his head.

“Go?”

“Yes.”

“Will go?” Hannibal asked, and frowned, not looking like he particularly enjoyed the idea.

“I don’t _want_ to,” Will explained. “I don’t want to leave you…”

Will sighed, not sure of how much Hannibal understood, or even if he understood that Will meant leaving for good. He reached out from behind the sheets towards Hannibal, and in a moment of weakness, he brushed his hand against Hannibal’s cheek.

Will had never tried to touch him except for a few times, and they had all been brief or necessary touches. At first, it had been because Hannibal had been more feral creature than human, most of the time growling at Will every time he didn’t do what he wanted, or when he wanted Will to stay still while Hannibal smelled every last part of Will’s clothes or examined every single thing in his camp. When Will realized Hannibal wasn’t going to hurt him even when he still got mad at him, he still hadn’t wanted to impose his touch to Hannibal. That’s why Will was shocked when Hannibal not only didn’t move immediately back, but also leaned into the contact, closing his eyes and nuzzling Will’s palm.

Will’s heart skipped a beat, and he felt his chest tightening. He wondered if this was the first real show of affection he had ever experienced, and Will had to purse his lips and swallow down a sob as he brushed his thumb over the slope of Hannibal’s cheekbone. After a couple of minutes, Will stopped the movement of his finger, and Hannibal opened his eyes. Those were the eyes of a man, the beast that had defended him from what he thought was a danger now completely gone.

Will let his hand slide down, and into the sheets again, and he couldn’t help shedding a tear, so he rolled over to press his face into the pillow.

When he felt the bed dipping under a new weight, he craned his neck, but it didn’t surprise him to find Hannibal curling up into a ball against Will’s back, pressing his forehead between his shoulder blades. Will swallowed with difficulty and let his head fall onto the pillow slowly, not wanting to move too much in case he scared Hannibal away.

With the press and heat of another body behind him, he fell asleep within seconds.


	2. Chapter 2

When Will woke up, Hannibal wasn’t with him anymore. He looked around the tent disoriented, not sure what time it was until he checked his wristwatch and saw that he had slept almost two hours.

“Shit…”

He got up and ran his hand across his face as he yawned and went out of the tent, considering what he had to do first… That’s why he didn’t see the person standing in front of the tent until he crashed into him. Will didn’t fall backwards because a hand grabbed his forearm and pulled him back up. Hannibal was standing upright, and the movement left Will a little bit too close to the man, their chests almost pressed together. Will blushed and cleared his throat as he put one hand on Hannibal’s shoulder and took a step back.

“Sorry,” he mumbled, but the man didn’t seem to be listening to him.

Hannibal leaned closer again, tilted his head and sniffed hard. It wasn’t the first time he had done that, but Will turned his face to the opposite side, trying not to blush even more; all the while Hannibal hadn’t released him. He sniffed again, closer to Will’s neck, and that time Will stepped completely back, his arm falling off Hannibal’s grasp. The man tilted his head as if he didn’t understand why Will was so flustered.

“I- hm. Well. What… have you been doing while I slept?” he asked when Hannibal didn’t move at all.

Hannibal’s face lit up then, and he pointed at Will’s table.

“Hungry,” he said before smiling.

Will turned around and found at least ten pieces of fruit, the bright colors painting a beautiful image over the ugly plastic table. There were bananas, mangos, kiwis, and others he couldn’t even identify. He smiled at that, but he turned to Hannibal, confused.

“What… are you doing?”

“I… take care,” Hannibal said after thinking about the right words for a second.

“Of me?” Will asked, pointing at himself.

Hannibal nodded.

“Why…?” Will asked, genuinely curious.

Hannibal tilted his head again, his long hair swinging around his face with the gesture. He didn’t answer, probably because he didn’t know how to, or because he simply didn’t want or didn’t need to answer Will’s question.

Will decided to focus on the fresh fruit instead, and he sat on his foldable chair and started peeling one of the mangoes with his pocketknife as Hannibal did the same with other fruit with his own hands beside him.

While they ate, Will wondered if Hannibal understood the concept of love, of caring for another person. He surely felt some sort love for his adoptive family of gorillas. He wondered if this is what it was, if he wasn’t just _curious_ about Will because he had never seen another human before him. He could’ve been equally curious about Jack, Beverly, Brian or the rest of the team. But instead, he didn’t let the others see him or get too close. And he definitely didn’t do _this_ for them. But Will concluded that, did _anyone_ at all understand the concept of caring for someone else? Wasn’t enough that you _felt_ it?

After finishing that sort of lunch and afternoon snack, Will hanged his washed clothes, which were now completely rumpled. Hannibal started playing around as he always did when he was visiting and Will had to work. When Will finished updating the journal, he turned and found Hannibal with the mirror Will used to shave. He had stolen Will’s safari hat, which he was strangely obsessed with, and he was moving the mirror around as if he couldn’t get the right angle. Will covered his mouth with his hand in an attempt not to laugh, and remembered the first time Hannibal had seen himself in the mirror. He had gasped and dropped it, running away and hissing at it when Will picked it up, miraculously unbroken. Now, Hannibal frowned, bared his teeth and breathed closer to the mirror to fog it up, which was a trick he loved. When he tried to look at himself in the mirror but the fog didn’t let him, Will laughed out loud. Hannibal turned, startled, and narrowed his eyes when he saw Will shaking with laughter.

“Funny?” Hannibal asked, the corner of his mouth curving in a smirk.

“Yes, you’re funny, I’m sorry,” Will said, shrugging a little.

Hannibal bared his teeth and growled at him, but it was so, _so_ different to his real growl, that Will didn’t even have to consider if he was playing around. Hannibal set the mirror carefully down on the little basket where Will had some tools, and then he jumped towards Will, who reacted quickly and ran away from Hannibal as he couldn’t stop laughing. They started a sort of hide and seek game around the tent and every other obstacle in the camp. Will knew Hannibal could’ve caught him in a second if he wanted, but every time he was close to catching Will, he was a second too late. They kept doing that for a few minutes, until Will couldn’t run anymore, and so he raised his hands in surrender and sat on the ground while panting. Hannibal moved towards him rolling on the ground and then bouncing until he was almost above him. Will let himself fall onto his back as he laughed even more. Hannibal hit the ground beside him with both fists as if he were angry, and then jumped and landed over Will, almost straddling him. Will lay flat on his back as he tried to catch his breath without losing his smile. Hannibal was still wearing the hat on his head, and when he bent over Will, his long hair fell onto Will’s chest.

“Funny,” Hannibal said, as he poked Will’s chest with his forefinger.

Will chuckled as he gently smacked his hand away, and Hannibal snorted, putting both hands on the ground and bending even lower, getting closer to Will’s face. He became acutely aware of Hannibal’s nakedness again. It wasn’t something he ever truly forgot, since Hannibal was very, _very_ naked, but he had managed to get somewhat used to seeing the man’s hairy chest, his long legs, his broad and muscled back… and his cock, hanging between his legs. But this time, he was almost completely on top of him, only a few inches separating their bodies. Will’s smile wavered and his eyes roamed Hannibal’s face, unable to hold Hannibal’s gaze for too long. He felt himself blushing again at the thorough examination, so he cleared his throat again.

“Okay, come on, get off! I have work to do,” Will told him. He was about to touch Hannibal’s arms as he spoke, but reconsidered it at the last moment, and he simply put them on the ground to push himself up.

Hannibal did so, crawling back until he was off Will with a smirk on his face.

When Will told Hannibal through gestures that he was going to go to the other camp, he nodded and, after leaving Will’s hat at the place he had found it, followed him as he walked into the jungle. Will looked back a couple of times, confirming that Hannibal was still behind him. The third time, when he could already see the expedition’s camp, he turned and Hannibal was nowhere to be seen. Will looked above and around him, but he couldn’t find anything, and he knew he wouldn’t see him unless Hannibal wanted to be seen.

He sighed and went into the camp. The first thing that welcomed him was Brian and Jimmy, arguing about whether a flower they were studying was native or not. Will mumbled a hello that went by unanswered, and continued to find Beverly sitting on her chair, feet up and a notebook balanced on her knees while she wrote on it.

“Afternoon, Graham!” she said without taking her eyes off of what she was writing.

“Hey, Beverly.”

She suddenly stopped writing and looked up with a smirk.

“So. Fight with the boss?”

Will pocketed his hands in his pants and sighed. “Yeah, something like that.”

“He’s inside his tent,” she said nodding towards the farthest one.

Will nodded and thanked her; he knew well the way. When he got to the tent, he raised his hand but realized he couldn’t knock on the fabric, and so he called Jack in a low voice, and then a little louder when the man didn’t seem to hear him.

“Come in,” he said from inside.

Will moved the tent’s door away and went inside, finding Jack leaning against the table he had inside, looking at the papers spread on it. Jack’s tent was much larger than Will’s, having everything necessary inside, almost as big as Will’s entire camp.

“Where is he?”

The question made him focus on Jack, and Will took another step into the tent as the other man straightened and locked his gaze on him.

“He’s probably around.”

“So he didn’t get scared, right?”

Will frowned and shook his head, not expecting that.

“Good. Keep him close,” Jack told him.

“Jack-”

“You still need to make a decision,” he said, and he walked over to what looked like a dresser and started going through one of the small drawers.

“What?”

“I stand by what I said, Will. We came here to study the gorillas,” he said, and he turned around, a serious look on his face. “We haven’t found the gorillas, Hannibal won’t tell you, and _you_ won’t let us get closer to Hannibal. Tell me what we’re doing here.”

“We will see the gorillas if they want to be seen… at _some_ point,” Will said shrugging. “And… don’t you think _being_ here is enough? Nobody has studied this place before, we are discovering new plants and animals; isn’t that enough?!”

“Not for the people who are paying us to study this breed of gorillas, Will.”

Will huffed out and put his hands on his hips.

“Look, I came to say I’m sorry about what happened. Hannibal was just defending me.”

“I know. And that was… incredible,” Jack said, and Will’s eyebrow twitched, again not expecting that answer. “As I told you, keep him close. We’ll continue this conversation another time.”

Will nodded, even though he didn’t know what Jack meant by that, and went out of the tent.

The next days went by in a relative peace. Each member of the expedition dedicated themselves to their work, Beverly came to Will’s camp to work together with him a couple of times. Hannibal visited Will the rest of the time, being there more than ever. One of the nights, Hannibal even fell asleep on Will’s bed while he finished writing on his journal. He came into the tent and found him there, curled up on top of the bed with one of his arms surrounding above his head. Will kneeled beside the bed and reached out to brush his hair away from his face as he smiled. The second time he touched his hair, though, Hannibal woke up with a jerk. He seemed disoriented, and made an animal sound before getting out of the bed and running off the tent and into the darkness, as if he had remembered he had somewhere to be.

The next morning, he was nowhere to be seen. Will wasn’t worried, since he knew well by now that he was much more than capable of looking after himself. Will washed up and shaved with the water he had collected in the river two days ago, and dedicated that morning to work on his journal. After having lunch, he went to the expedition’s camp following Jack’s orders that Beverly had given him the day before.

As he crossed from his camp to the other one through the jungle, he realized he was in a good mood. Jack hadn’t insisted on the subject of forcing Hannibal to show them the gorillas in those days, and everyone seemed to be working better. But just as he was about to reach the camp, a sound that he didn’t expect to hear there made him stop and press himself into a tree, his heart beating too fast. Because unless he was mistaken, that had been a gunshot.

“What the…?” he whispered to nobody.

Another gunshot sounded, and that’s when he reacted, straightening and almost running to the camp. When he got there, he saw that the entire team was gathered in a circle, Jack in the center of it.

“Will!” Jack beckoned him to get closer.

“Jack! You guys heard it too, right?”

And just as he approached them, he saw the new people entering at the end of the camp; a couple of men carrying boxes and piling them up, a red-headed woman that was talking to what looked like a walkie-talkie, a huge gun strapped to her thigh that Will was sure he wouldn’t have been able to hold without difficulties. Will knew instantly what they were: mercenaries that had just disembarked.

When he looked at the team again, he knew that they were already aware of it: he saw it in their faces when they looked down as Will gazed at each of them, finally focusing on Jack.

“Who… who are they, Jack?”

“Will…” he said, with his arms akimbo.

“What did you do?” Will asked, more firmly.

Jack stayed still for a moment, and then he made a gesture with his hands.

“Take five, guys,” he told the team. Will stepped slowly closer to him as the rest went away. “I’m sorry Will, I just… They asked about our progress-”

“Jack…” Will said, shaking his head lightly.

“They weren’t happy about it, said it looked like we needed help to locate the gorillas. And maybe they were right,” Jack finished.

Will let out a shaky breath, and he felt a shiver running down his spine.

“Jack, you know what they’ll do to them if those… _people_ find them.”

“We don’t know-”

“Yes we do!” Will shouted at him.

He could feel the rest of the expedition’s eyes on him. Even the mercenaries seemed to have stopped what they were doing to observe them, not a single sound in the entire camp. But Will didn’t care.

“They will go into the forest killing everything they find, and they will take them by force to study them. This… is _not_ what I signed for. What _any_ of us signed for!” Will said, describing a circle with his hands.

“Will, please calm down, they won’t-”

“I will _not_ calm down!” he said, angrier still.

“Well, perhaps you should’ve thought about it before. You could’ve asked that savage to take us to the gorillas, but instead you chose to protect him.”

Will stepped back as if Jack had slapped him. But he felt the rage inside him transforming into resolution within a second. He reached in to his back pocket to take the journal he had written to hand over Jack, and he threw it to the ground between them.

“If something happens to those animals… it will _not_ be on me.”

Will turned around and only looked briefly at the proud smirk on Beverly’s face before going towards the path to his own camp. Jack yelled at him to come back, even saying please the third time, but Will didn’t look back. He just kept walking with his heart drumming inside his chest. And as soon as he was beyond the border of the camp, he ran; he ran as fast as he could to his own camp, and once he was there he looked around hoping to find Hannibal and he even called him, but the man wasn’t there. Will then took a backpack with food, water, a change of clothes and a few basic things, then put on his hat and went into the jungle.

“Hannibal!” he called out once he was far enough from the camps, putting both hands around his mouth.

He tried to discern something in the tree’s branches, but there wasn’t a single movement, not even a sporadic monkey or bird. It was like all the animals were hiding. Will kept calling Hannibal over and over as he walked into the jungle, losing track of how long he had been walking. He stopped by a tree to have a sip of water, and saw that the sky was getting darker between the thick foliage that was the roof above him. He had to find Hannibal before it got completely dark, and so he put the water into his backpack and started walking again.

“Hannibal!” he called him again, and he felt a little light-headed after having walked probably for more than an hour now.

Will ran the sleeve of his shirt across his forehead, and in that moment he heard a thud behind him. He turned around but before he could see anything, a hand pressed against his mouth and another grabbed his shirt, keeping him close when Will instinctively tried to move backwards. But as soon as he saw that it was Hannibal standing in front of him, he stopped struggling and Hannibal lowered the hand over his mouth with a serious expression.

“Hey…” Will said, and immediately felt like a fool. “I was looking for you.”

“Noise.”

“I know, I’m sorry for being so noisy. I needed to tell you-”

“Will not. Noise!” he said.

Hannibal then imitated a gunshot and pointed upwards at the sky, and Will felt his stomach somersaulting.

“Shit. Yeah, I know…” he said, thinking of how to explain Hannibal what he needed to tell him. “The… the noise?” he said, and he tried to imitate the sound too, along with gesturing like a gun. “That is… people.”

Will pointed at himself and Hannibal. He had taught that word to him, so Hannibal understood, but he still tilted his head.

“People?”

“Yes! _Bad_ people,” Will explained. “Dangerous people.”

Hannibal then frowned and stepped back with an angry expression. Will took a deep breath for what he was about to tell him.

“Hannibal, listen to me. You have to get your… your family,” Will explained, touching over his heart.

He had explained the concept to him with pictures of families, and then he had drawn Hannibal surrounded by gorillas. Hannibal had touched the drawing and whispered the word back, and Will had done that same gesture.

“Family?”

“Yes, your family. They have to go. _You_ have to go away from here. Dangerous people will hurt you all if you don’t.”

Hannibal bared his teeth and growled. Not at Will, but at what he was telling him, and so he knew he had understood.

“Family go?”

“Yes, tomorrow, or tonight. Get them and go far from here.”

Will observed how Hannibal looked away for a moment. He seemed to be considering, thinking what Will was telling him, and he hoped Hannibal had understood. Hannibal suddenly turned to him again and he nodded. Then Hannibal moved closer to him again and turned his back to him, bending down a little and looking at him over his shoulder. Hannibal seemed expectant, and Will simply blinked.

“What do you want…?”

Hannibal sighed and took Will’s hand, and then he dragged him until Will bumped into Hannibal’s back.

“What… what are you doing?”

“To… morrow, family go,” Hannibal said, and Will nodded, leaning into his shoulder with his free hand. “Now sleep.”

“What?”

But Hannibal didn’t answer anymore. He suddenly took Will’s thighs and hauled him upwards, hefting Will’s weight onto his back, and Will finally understood what he meant to do. Will held onto Hannibal’s shoulders, linking his hands around his neck instinctively so he wouldn’t fall backwards. Hannibal then straightened and pulled Will upwards in a single movement, and he linked his feet around Hannibal’s body.

“Hannibal wait, I’m not sure you can carry me. I know I look slim, but I actually weigh more than- ah!”

Will stopped talking when Hannibal grabbed a vine hanging from a tree, wrapped it around his arm and suddenly pulled both of them up as he started climbing with his feet pressed to the trunk. Will held onto Hannibal as he started going up, his heart drumming loudly against his ears. He didn’t know why he was carrying him, or where he was taking him, but when he looked down for a second, he held even tighter with both his arms and legs, focusing on the feeling of Hannibal’s hair against his face, the muscles of his shoulders under his hands. Perhaps to distract himself from the increasing height, he started wondering if this wouldn’t be incredibly uncomfortable for Hannibal. He couldn’t stop thinking about the buttons of his shirt hurting Hannibal’s bare skin, or the heels of his boots digging into his bare thighs. But the man didn’t stop or grunt even once.

Finally the ascent seemed to end, and Will opened his eyes again to find they were in one of the highest, broad branches of the trees there.

“Are we… done? Here?” he asked Hannibal, even though he didn’t know how he would be able to sleep in that branch, thinking he was going to fall all the time.

Hannibal didn’t answer that time either. Instead, he walked to the edge of the branch and stood there, looking in front of him. Will tried to discern what he was looking at, and then he understood; the only thing in front of them was the branch of another tree… but one that was too far away. Will thought that Hannibal couldn’t be thinking what he feared… and yet, Hannibal suddenly moved a couple of steps back, as if to take a run up.

“No…” Will said.

“Yes,” Hannibal said then.

Will shook his head, unable to say anything else. And then, Hannibal ran forwards and jumped. Will wasn’t able to close his eyes in time, and for a second, he flew. He floated over the absolute nothing, only Hannibal between him and the distant ground, and he was breathless. It was even a second, though, because then Hannibal grabbed a vine that Will hadn’t even seen, and he swung to the next branch. When they landed, Will panted and held onto Hannibal’s shoulders tighter, but he smiled. He had never felt _so_ alive.

Hannibal repeated that many times after that, sometimes swinging with a vine’s help, other times jumping from branch to branch, or simply walking over the closest ones. After the sixth jump, Will began to trust Hannibal’s precision, and he stopped waiting for the moment in which they would fall.

When they finally landed on an even bigger tree, Will couldn’t almost believe it when Hannibal started climbing up instead of jumping. And he couldn’t believe it either when they climbed so much, they suddenly passed the top of the rest of the trees. Will gasped at the sight of being above every other single tree, as if he was seeing the sky above the clouds.

“Oh my god…” he whispered, unable to look away.

Hannibal bent down a little and he understood it was his way of telling him to get off. Will slid down, but just as his feet touched the wide branch, he felt himself falling over.

“Woah!” Will said, and Hannibal caught him before he could stagger to the edge. Will chuckled, and he blinked to get rid of the dizziness. “Too many jumps from tree to tree.”

“Home,” Hannibal said, and Will frowned.

“Home?”

Hannibal nodded, and nodded upwards. Will followed his gaze, and his jaw dropped. The top of that specific tree was much, _much_ higher than the rest around them, but that wasn’t what left him baffled; there was a house built into the higher part, just one branch above them. It was wooden, clearly handmade, and it seemed abandoned. Nature had invaded it, vines and climbing plants creeping into its walls and windows.

“What…?”

“Home,” Hannibal repeated, and Will looked at him.

Hannibal pointed at the house and did the gesture for sleeping, and then he pointed at the opposite side, into the jungle, and did the same gesture.

“Hannibal home.”

“Both?” Will asked, and Hannibal nodded once.

They went up through a sort of net that hung from the higher branches to access the entrance. Once they were up, Hannibal went into the house, but Will stayed frozen in what was supposed to be the doorway.

The house was very messy, and Will’s first thought was that it looked like it had been robbed. But this was a house that _someone_ had built in the middle of the jungle, with no other humans around. This hadn’t been a robbery; it had probably been some sort of predator, as well as time and nature claiming it. Still, it didn’t look like it was completely abandoned; there weren’t any vines or plants blocking the door, there weren’t many leaves scattered across the floor, there was a hammock made of vines hanging in a corner, and what looked like a bed at the end of the room – which looked more like a thin mattress lying on the floor -, and both looked like they had been used not long ago, which confirmed what Hannibal had just told him; this was his home too, along with the jungle. Will wondered how often Hannibal slept here, as opposed to with his family of gorillas.

Will finally walked into the house, looking at the furniture: some of it looked like it had been made in a factory, while others looked handcrafted and probably made right here. Just as he was approaching the bed, he noticed a framed photo on the floor, but leaned against a dresser as if someone had left it like that, and Will immediately felt a knot in his throat. He kneeled on the floor and took off his hat and backpack, leaving them beside the dresser before taking the photo. After blowing the dust away and wiping the rest of the dirt with his hand, he looked at the black and white photo behind the cracked crystal. It was a couple, a handsome and tall man standing next to a beautiful, smiling woman. In the hands of the woman was a little baby… and between both of them, a girl that couldn’t be more than eight years old. She had the same eyes and nose as Hannibal.

Will felt Hannibal’s hair brushing his left arm then, and he turned to see the man crouched next to him, looking sadly at the photo in his hands.

“This was your family…”

Hannibal looked at him and didn’t say anything, but he didn’t need to. He _knew_ that already.

“Why did you bring me here…?” Will asked as he set the photo down without taking his eyes off of the man.

“Will… family.”

Hannibal leaned closer, and Will held his breath when the man raised a hand and pressed it over Will’s heart. His face was serious and a little sad, and Will’s heart tightened at that gesture and what it meant. Hannibal was telling him that he _was_ family to him, and the only thing that Will could do was stare at him as he felt a tear rolling down his cheek. Hannibal looked at him with his head tipped.

“Upset?”

“No…” Will shook his head, and then he considered how to explain what he felt, when he was feeling so many things at the same time. “ _Sad_. Remember sad? Remember the little boy from the book that was sad, because he was lost?”

Hannibal nodded, although Will wasn’t sure how much of that Hannibal had understood, and Will chuckled as he looked down and cried even more. And then, he felt Hannibal’s hands around his shoulders. He straightened just in time to see Hannibal moving closer until he was pressing his chest against Will’s, his head tilted to press his cheek on his shoulder, and his arms surrounding him. Hannibal was hugging him, and when he managed to react, Will put his hands around his back and hugged him too, setting his forehead on Hannibal’s shoulder.

He remembered that the book he had showed Hannibal, depicted a boy who was lost and crying, and so his friend hugged him so he would feel better. After that, the little boy found his parents, and he had tried to teach Hannibal a few emotions with that story, like sadness, concern, feeling lonely or lost, relief… He hadn’t been sure how much of the story Hannibal had retained, but once again, Will was shocked at how intelligent Hannibal was.

“I’m so sorry; it’s my fault too…” he said into Hannibal’s shoulder, even though he knew Hannibal wouldn’t understand what he meant in that moment. “I should’ve known they would do this, I should have known…”

Will tried to contain a sob, but he couldn’t, and so he buried his face even more into Hannibal’s neck. He let himself be held by the man until he calmed down, and then he felt himself getting lifted up. He opened his eyes and looked around, confirming that Hannibal _was_ carrying him again, this time in his arms. When he looked at Hannibal’s face he saw that he was staring at him as he carried him, and so Will smiled a little.

Hannibal kneeled into the bed and set Will onto it gently. When he touched the bed, he realized it was not a mattress. It seemed like a bundle of cloths inside a sheet; another handmade thing, though he wasn’t sure if that had been made by his family, or Hannibal.

Will wondered how Hannibal’s parents had ended up in this place. A shipwreck seemed like the simplest answer, and it would explain why they had some furniture from the boat. The _why_ only Hannibal had survived, though… that was an entirely different question, and one Will didn’t feel like thinking about in that moment.

Will settled into the bed, and Hannibal observed him while kneeling half on the edge of it and half on the floor. Will breathed deeply and let himself relax for the first time in the entire day. The sweet and deep scent of the plants that only opened up in the evening merged when he breathed in.

When both of them simply stared at each other for a long time, Will amazed at how Hannibal’s eyes looked in the sunset’s light, he was the first to look away.

“Why did you bring me here?” he asked again. He knew he was being illogical, but he could not wrap his mind around the man beside him.

Hannibal tilted his head and bent down, their faces suddenly very close.

“Mine,” Hannibal proclaimed.

“Oh,” Will said, and he smiled nervously, trying to ignore the sudden heat that flushed his cheeks. “I… don’t think you understand what that word means.”

“Will mine,” he insisted. “Hannibal take care.”

Will’s smile widened, because he made it sound so simple, and innocent… For some reason, Hannibal cared about Will, and so he wanted to take care of him. He felt the knot in his throat again, and he nodded instead of speaking.

Hannibal lay down beside Will then, and he scooted slowly closer to him until he was completely pressed against Will’s side. He chuckled at his attempt of stealth, and Hannibal made a strange noise, like a whine, but he didn’t sound displeased at all. He then buried his nose into Will’s neck and sniffed, and that tickled Will. He squirmed as he laughed, and Hannibal’s arms suddenly surrounded him, holding him against him as he moved his nose up and down his neck and sniffed and huffed too hard to be genuine. Hannibal was playing, and Will wriggled as he couldn’t stop laughing.

“Okay, okay, stop it!” he said, hitting Hannibal’s side softly.

Hannibal did so, and he moved a little away and supported his weight on his elbow, but didn’t let go of his hold around Will, nor did he disentangle himself from him. Hannibal looked at him with that smirk of his, when he was proud of himself, and he poked Will’s arm.

“Funny?” he asked.

“Yes, funny…” Will agreed. “Now come on, let’s go to sleep. You have a big day tomorrow…”

Hannibal lay down again, and Will thought he would move away from him in that moment. Instead, Hannibal snuggled him even tighter, rubbing his nose into Will’s arm before staying like that.

Will looked at him for a moment, and then at the man’s hand on his stomach, holding onto his shirt and he sighed, a warm feeling in his stomach.

Will bent his arm above him and rested his head there. Hannibal groaned and curled up even more against him, and Will couldn’t help but smiling a little before closing his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you SO much to everyone who read the first chapter!! I'm so overwhelmed (in the best way) at the response. I hope you guys like this and the next chapters too! :)


	3. Chapter 3

That time, Will woke up being shaken. It was gentle, but he still sat up as he inhaled, and only then he saw Hannibal beside the bed, looking at him expectantly.

“What…?”

Will looked around, and he finally realized where they were. He _remembered_ why they were here, and he ran his hands through his face as he groaned.

“Will, hungry,” Hannibal said, pulling from the sleeve of his shirt.

“Okay, okay, I’m up…”

Hannibal had apparently gone out early, because he had again collected a bunch of fresh fruit, piled in a stool beside the bed. They had breakfast in silence, Will eating only a banana that he had difficulty swallowing given the knot in his stomach.

When they finished, Will changed his shirt and then reunited with Hannibal, who was already waiting outside, surveying the forest from their high position.

The descent from the tree house was slow but sure. Will held onto Hannibal’s shoulders as he had done the day before, and Will knew he moved slower than he would on his own, for his sake. Once they were back on the ground, Hannibal started walking in his crouched position, and Will followed. As they advanced through the jungle, Will was really aware for the first time of where Hannibal was taking him. He hadn’t exactly considered it since the previous day, but Hannibal had allowed Will to go with him in his way to warn and lead his adoptive family away from the mercenaries… And that meant, Will was going to see the gorillas with his own eyes.

He had time to begin to process it while they moved, since Hannibal kept walking for what had to be almost two hours. When Will was about to ask Hannibal to stop so he could drink a bit of water from the bottle on his backpack, he suddenly came to a halt. Will bumped into him and would’ve fallen if he hadn’t planted both hands on his back.

“Hannibal…?” he asked him, a little confused that he had stopped in the middle of the jungle.

The man simply turned to him and smiled. And then, Hannibal stood upright, grabbed the vines in front of them and moved them away. Will’s jaw fell, his mouth hanging open when he saw past the vines; there was a clearing, a few trees in them that covered the ground in shade, but it was still clear enough as to be able to walk more freely than through the jungle. And that was exactly what the gorillas were doing in that clearing.

“Oh… god,” Will said, taking a step forwards and pressing against Hannibal’s side without taking his eyes off of the animals.

They were _huge_. There was no other way to describe the animals in front of Will. He had seen the normal gorillas, he had studied them… but this specific subspecies had been said to be even bigger than their cousins, and Will was confirming it right now just at a glance. There were at least twenty primates, half of them adults. Will spotted at least two silverbacks, which meant they were the eldest of the troop. He also saw five blackbacks, the younger males, and at least eight females. The rest went from impossibly tiny little gorillas hanging from their mother’s fur, to larger immature gorillas running around the adults, giving little screams when one of them caught the other while playing.

In that moment, Will felt Hannibal’s hand in his, and he tore off his gaze from the animals for the first time. Hannibal smiled at him and nodded towards the clearing, and they walked into it without letting go of each other. Will let the other guide him as he thought he couldn’t have moved on his own. The moment they entered the clearing, the animals stopped eating and turned to them, although they didn’t become agitated. Gorillas had a better sense of smell than humans, so it was possible they had already noticed their presence. Since they were used to Hannibal and Will doubted they had encountered many humans before, he guessed that’s why the animals remained perfectly calm, only one of the elder males huffing and puffing out his chest slightly.

Hannibal let go of Will’s hand and walked towards them with determination, leaving him a little behind. Will observed how Hannibal started communicating with the troop, making the same noises they made; little huffs and pants, a howl when the gorilla that seemed to be in charge answered. Will tensed, seeing how the other animals joined in the discussion, and even more when Hannibal hit the ground with both fists and the volume rose.

They kept doing that for at least a couple of minutes, and then, as suddenly as they had started, they went silent, only a few of them huffing until they returned to their normal sounds.

Hannibal turned to him and gave him a little smile before going towards the one that looked like the leader; Will observed their movements, and it looked like they were somewhat equals. Usually, only one of the males was the leader of the troop, but Hannibal had seemed to climb his way to the top of the family, even when he was clearly different than them.

That thought made Will grin as he observed him, and probably that’s why he didn’t notice the tiny one that suddenly tugged at the leg of his pants. Will jerked back, a little surprised, and the baby ran away to hide among other small gorillas that had gathered to observe Will with curiosity. Will chuckled and crouched, extending a hand with his palm upwards but at a low height, so they wouldn’t feel threatened. The smallest one, the one that had gotten close, seemed to be the bravest, because it was the first to move away from the group again and approach him. He sniffed his hand and cooed, observing the hand with interest. When he decided that Will wasn’t a threat, he got even closer and took his hand, turning it and touching it as he liked. The rest of the young gorillas came closer then, and soon Will was surrounded by them. The first one ended up climbing on his back and searching through his hair, hopeful to find something but ultimately disappointed. Another was incredibly interested in Will’s boots, and kept touching the laces, until he tugged and untied them, to which Will redid the knot under the gorilla’s attentive look.

When Hannibal approached him, he made a single sound and all the young gorillas went away as they screamed playfully and chased each other. Will opened his mouth to ask why he had sent them away, but then he saw what was happening past Hannibal. The entire troop was moving, as if they were a machine that had been set in motion. Will straightened as he saw the biggest silverback at the head of the parade, the mothers calling for their babies, and the gorillas that had been on the trees, climbing down to go with the rest.

“You made it! They’re going,” Will said, smiling and looking at him.

Hannibal nodded, and then he crouched next to Will.

“Will and Hannibal go?” Hannibal asked, frowning.

Will’s heart skipped a beat at that, feeling his stomach churning.

“Oh…” Will raised his hand and, very slowly, pressed his palm against Hannibal’s face as he had done that other night. Hannibal immediately grabbed Will’s wrist with both hands, leaning into the touch and keeping his hand right there. “Hannibal, I can’t. I’ll slow you down, and I… I should return to my camp.”

“Family…” Hannibal whispered, and Will’s heart broke in a million pieces.

Will looked down and squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting to cry again in front of him. But he didn’t fool Hannibal, because the man bent down and hugged him as he pulled Will upwards from his hunched position. Will held onto him tightly, embracing him and shaking against him as he tried to swallow his sobs down.

They stayed like that until one of the gorillas howled, as if they were hurrying Hannibal. He moved back and made a sound in answer, and then focused on Will again.

“Maybe we’ll see each other again,” Will said, more to himself than to Hannibal.

When the man just looked at him intently, he smiled. Will took Hannibal’s face in his hands again and he leaned in to press a kiss on Hannibal’s forehead. The man stayed completely still as Will lingered there for a few seconds, not wanting to let him go. But he had to, he _ought_ to, and so he finally moved back very slowly. Hannibal looked up at him with his beautiful, hazel eyes, and Will could’ve sworn they were watery. But before he could know for sure, Hannibal gripped Will’s shirt and leaned in again, pressing their foreheads together and nuzzling his nose against Will’s in a gentle caress. It was merely a couple of seconds, but when Hannibal moved back and looked at him once more, Will breathed out, astounded. That had been a clear sign of affection, and Will had to purse his lips as Hannibal finally turned around and approached the animals.

Will felt a silent tear rolling down his cheek as the gorillas started cooing and screaming when Hannibal followed the direction of the silverback, who was guiding them to the opposite direction where Will was. One by one, the primates disappeared through the foliage, and lastly, Hannibal was the only one Will could see. He turned, and Will nodded. And so, he finally went with his family.

Will let himself fall forwards with his hands on the ground, shaking and breathing hard. He didn’t understand when this had happened. _When_ , exactly, this had stopped being a job that he loved, to be simply something he loved.

When he pulled himself together, he sat back on his heels and after brushing the tears away, he observed the spot where they had gone through. And then as he was standing up, he heard voices behind him, _human_ voices, and he turned around in time to see Jack making his way through the jungle… And right after him, the mercenaries emerged.

“Will!”

He stayed frozen right where he was as he observed the march of four of the mercenaries and the redheaded woman.

“What… what are you doing here,” Will asked them when Jack came close enough.

“We… picked up your trail after looking for you all afternoon yesterday,” Jack explained, and at least he had the decency to look slightly apologetic.

Jack then looked beyond Will, and his eyes widened. He knew what Jack was seeing, because it had been his exact same reaction; the animals may be gone, but the proof of their presence was evident.

“It looks like their nest, right?” the woman said, passing by the rest of mercenaries and craning her neck to look around, looking for them.

“It does look like it… this is incredible, Will,” Jack said, focusing back on him and smiling widely. Will averted his eyes.

“Where are they?” the woman asked Will, and he glared at her. When he didn’t answer, she turned to Jack. “They must be close. If we hurry, we can catch them and-”

“No.”

All of them turned to Will, and he realized he was clenching his fists and jaw. But instead of flinching back at everyone’s stare, he squared his shoulders and raised his chin.

“What did you just say…?” the woman asked.

“I said no.”

“Will, please, don’t make this-” Jack started, but Will cut him.

“I will not let these thugs get near them. You will have to get past me.”

Two of the mercenaries chuckled, and the woman smiled with a sneer. Jack huffed out.

“Come on, Will, don’t be ridiculous…”

But Will wasn’t paying attention to him, because the woman made a gesture with her hand, and one of the mercenaries approached him. He raised the rifle he was carrying, which looked like a tranquilizer gun, and pointed it at Will. He closed his eyes for a second but remained firm as Jack raised his hands and took a step back.

“Wow, hold on, please put that- Tell your man to put that down, come on, that’s meant for the gorillas,” Jack told the woman, but she stayed still as she eyed Will over the mercenary’s shoulder.

“Tell _your_ man to step aside,” she told him.

“I won’t,” Will said, shaking his head.

“Get out of the way, you idiot…” the mercenary mumbled.

“No!” Will said.

Jack looked at the exchange agape, and the woman sighed and rolled her eyes, as if she was more bored than anything else. With a cold-blooded calm, she approached them and tapped the mercenary’s arm once to make him move away, took a step forwards and pulled our her gun. She pointed it straight at Will’s chest, and he breathed in at seeing the barrel of the gun, that one with real bullets, that could kill him in a second.

“Ms. Lounds, stop that now!”

“I am very good at my job, Mr. Crawford, and I won’t let a tree-hugger ruin my reputation.”

She pulled back the hammer of the gun, and Will closed his eyes, because he was pretty certain he was going to die here, in this jungle, after all. In that moment, he felt a breeze on his face and the unmistakable feeling of someone close to him, much closer than the others had been a second before. He opened his eyes, and for a moment all he could see was a wall of skin and muscles in front of him. Will let out a ragged breath as he loosened the tension a little. Because between him and the woman was Hannibal; standing tall, shoulders squared and chest puffed out to look even bigger. He couldn’t see his face from where he was, but he was sure it would look as intimidating as the rest of him.

“Holy sh-!” the woman said, stepping back and keeping the gun pointed at Hannibal now, since he had put himself directly between the gun and Will.

“Good God…” another mercenary said, raising slightly his own rifle.

“Is this… is this the savage man?” the woman asked Jack, probably, which meant he had talked about Hannibal with them.

“He… he is,” Jack said, and he started stepping closer to them, but Hannibal growled, turning to him slightly. Jack raised his hands in a peaceful gesture. “Will, tell him to calm down.”

“Tell- tell them to lower the guns and go away,” Will said, finally reacting.

He moved a little aside to be able to see better over Hannibal’s shoulder, but the woman didn’t move an inch, even though she looked nervous for the first time.

“Yeah, we… we really should. Ms. Lounds, please, lower your gun, he could get violent.”

“We can shoot him with a tranquilizer,” she said, nodding towards one of the mercenaries

“What?! No!” Will yelled.

He tried to circle Hannibal to put himself in front of him as the mercenary raised the rifle, but Hannibal lifted his hand and held him behind.

“Ms. Lounds, I completely forbid you to do that!” Jack exclaimed.

Hannibal growled even louder when the mercenary raised the gun even more, and he hunched a little as if he was ready to charge forwards. The woman gasped and moved her finger to the trigger, believing he _was_ going to attack.

Will reacted as fast as he could, circling Hannibal’s torso with both hands and using Hannibal’s hold on him with an arm to push him to the opposite side, destabilizing him and throwing him aside. The shot sounded as they were falling, loud and terrible, and Will immediately heard the ringing in his ears when he hit the ground. He felt Hannibal moving between his arms, but he was trying to catch his breath from the hit.

Will groaned, or he was pretty sure he did, because he still couldn’t hear well. When he put both hands on the ground and started pushing himself up, he did hear something. He opened his mouth and groaned again, and that time he recognized himself, so the other sounds…

Will raised his head and saw Hannibal smashing one of the tranquilizing guns into the ground, breaking the barrel in two and throwing the part on his hand away. Then, he turned to the mercenaries, who were crowded together, staring wide-eyed at Hannibal, and growled angrily at them. Will saw that the woman didn’t have her gun anymore, Hannibal probably having snatched it from her and thrown it away, and the others did have their tranquilizing guns, but wisely kept them pointed to the ground.

“Go back to the camp right now,” Jack shouted, pointing at the spot of the jungle from which they had come. “And you and your team can start packing your things right now, Ms. Lounds.”

The woman turned to Jack as if to protest, but Hannibal growled again, and that was the last thing the mercenaries needed to nod, turn around and walk as fast as they could out of the clearing.

As soon as they did, Hannibal looked at Jack, but he just glared at him before turning to Will. And that’s when Will saw the blood on Hannibal’s arm.

“Oh god,” he mumbled as he stood up, stumbled and was caught by Hannibal, both of them falling to their knees on the ground.

Will took Hannibal’s arm immediately and examined his biceps, letting out a relieved breath when he saw that it was merely a gaze from the woman’s gunshot. He had been _so_ close…

“Don’t worry, it’s gonna be okay. It’s just a scrape,” Will told him.

“Hannibal okay,” he said, and Will nodded to assure him that he _was_ okay, despite Hannibal not looking too worried now that the mercenaries had left.

Will took his backpack off and searched inside, finding what he was looking for: a bandage. As he opened the wrapper, he saw Jack out of the corner of his eye, taking a step towards them but wisely maintaining the distance.

“I… I’m sorry Will, I didn’t know- I didn’t think they would do that…”

Will didn’t answer, simply focused on Hannibal’s arm. He wrapped the bandage around his arm, not too tight, but tight enough so it wouldn’t fall off his arm.

“You hired them,” Will said. It wasn’t a question, but Jack still nodded. “There is no _they_ , is there? Every time you talked about the people who funded our trip, how _they_ wanted answers, and that _they_ had sent the mercenaries…”

“There are a few people helping to fund the trip, but… They didn’t make the decisions, no. I was in charge the entire time,” Jack said.

Will finished wrapping the bandage and checked that it was okay. Hannibal touched the knot with his other hand, and then ran three fingers across his arm as if he were checking the difference between his skin and the bandage. Will put everything he hadn’t used back into his backpack, and finally looked into Jack’s eyes.

“Go to the camp, Jack.”

“Will-”

“I… _don’t_ feel like talking to you right now. They almost killed him… And me,” he added, and he shook his head. “It would’ve been on you.”

Jack pursed his lips and nodded. For the first time since Will had met him, he seemed truly sorry.

“Come back when you’re ready, Will, and we will… talk.”

He focused on a spot on the ground and stared at it as Jack got out of the clearing too, following the same path as the mercenaries. When he could no longer hear the man’s steps, he finally looked up at Hannibal. The man was already gazing at Will, had probably been looking at him the entire time. Will smiled.

“You came back,” Will whispered.

“Back,” Hannibal nodded. “Will take care.”

Hannibal said that last thing while pointing at Will first and then at himself, and so Will’s smile widened. Hannibal was thanking him for having saved him from the bullet.

“Of course. You take care of me… and I take care of you,” Will told him, gesturing to each of them, and Hannibal tilted his head, although not because he didn’t understand. “Family, right?”

Hannibal grinned at that word, and Will reached out to take his hand as he stood up.

Hannibal took him back to the tree house. When Will asked him about the gorillas, Hannibal just told him ‘ _safe_ ’, and so he nodded. He didn’t know if Hannibal had to go back to check on them, but he stayed with him nonetheless. They didn’t do much that day, Will lying on the hammock while Hannibal curled up across from him, or eating the fruit Hannibal collected from the nearest trees. In the afternoon, they sat in the sort of platform made of bamboo and wood that surrounded the house. Will watched the boat in which the mercenaries had arrived setting sail, and he was glad Jack had kept his word that time. After a simple dinner of a few energy bars that Will had in his backpack – which Hannibal smelled cautiously and sneezed before trying them as Will laughed -, they lay on the platform until the orange bled into a dark, starry sky. Will had seen the stars there other nights, but this time he just lay down with his hands behind his head, and he felt Hannibal imitating his posture, just to curl up and get closer a moment later, and fell asleep without realizing it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, MANY THANKS for all the comments, kudos and support!!!
> 
> The fic is finished now, so I'll be publishing the next(s) chapters soon :)


	4. Chapter 4

Will woke up in the bed, covered by his own shirt, which he had taken off the day before, as the weather had been a little too hot. He yawned and sat up drowsily, and remembered that he had fallen asleep outside in the platform, with Hannibal. But the man wasn’t there now, so he left the shirt aside and got up. Right when he went out of the door, Hannibal landed on the platform, a sort of cloth the same color of the bed around his chest and being held by his shoulder. When he showed Will the fruit inside the cloth, he smiled; that was probably how Hannibal had brought him so many pieces of fruit the previous times.

They ate breakfast while observing how life flowed in front of them; other species of monkeys eating or playing around, or just jumping from tree to tree while screaming; a giant snake that Will hadn’t seen at first, slithering from one branch to another, and thousands and thousands of birds of every single color flying and chirping everywhere. It was an amazing view, and Will felt immediately joyful.

When they finished breakfast, Will asked Hannibal to take him to the water, and he understood at his second attempt, Hannibal first bringing him his own bottle of water. They climbed down the tree exactly as the first time, and Hannibal guided him to a river that was near the house. Hannibal kept walking beside the edge until they found a backwater, and Will smiled and kneeled down immediately next to the part where the water was running down. In another place and situation, he wouldn’t have drank straight from the river, but since this place wasn’t contaminated by humans and he didn’t have a pot to boil it, he took his chances, hollowed out his palms and brought the cold water to his lips. Only when he had drank until he was satisfied, he straightened and saw Hannibal doing the same, only he was bent down and drinking straight from the river. Will smiled and stood up, and before he could reconsider it, he yanked his undershirt off and pushed his pants and underwear down. He stepped out of his clothes and ran towards the water, shouting with joy and shock at how cold the water actually was.

“Holy sh-!” he exclaimed, standing on his tiptoe on the rocks once he was inside, and looking over at Hannibal. He was observing him with a smirk on his face, the water dripping from his chin. “Are you making fun of me?”

Hannibal’s smile widened, showing his teeth, and Will opened his mouth in feigned shock. He hollowed out his palm on the water and brought it upwards quickly to splash Hannibal, standing on the edge. The man gasped at the sudden attack and tried to move off, but the water reached him anyway. Will laughed at the angry face Hannibal made, but it soon turned into a mischievous smile. And before he could recover from the fit of laughter, Hannibal jumped into the water, splashing water to him, which forced him to cover his eyes. When he opened them, he wasn’t expecting that Hannibal were right beside him, the smirk back in his lips and a playful brightness on his eyes.

“No!” Will yelled, but it didn’t matter. Hannibal tackled him and sent him under the water, where they started wrestling.

They kept playing for a long time, Hannibal tickling Will and sometimes getting away and swimming in circles around him, like a fish, his body moving in ripples in perfect harmony with the water. When he attacked again, Will would grab his shoulders and push him down until Hannibal was sinking underwater. They repeated that a few times, and Will knew each of them that Hannibal was letting him; that if he had wanted, he could’ve overpowered him from the beginning.

When Will was breathless and his muscles ached from the activity, he raised his hand and Hannibal stopped immediately. He had only half of his face out of the water, from the nose up, and when he resurfaced, he sputtered a stream of water to him.

“Oh, you jerk!” he said, smacking him gently on the shoulder with the back of his hand. Hannibal grinned.

Will didn’t have soap there, but he still washed and scrubbed his hair, and then he turned to Hannibal, who was touching the knot from the bandage Will had put on him the day before; despite having soaked it on the water, it hadn’t fallen off. Hannibal tipped his head, confused at Will’s narrowed look, and he finally approached him. He asked him to let him do something, and so Hannibal obediently stayed still as Will pushed him down until he was kneeling, and then started combing his hair inside the water with his fingers. At first, Hannibal was stiff as Will worked through some tangles, but when he realized that Will was being careful, he relaxed and closed his eyes. At some point, he even leaned back, maybe swayed by the slight current of the water, and his back met Will’s hips. He immediately jerked back, because even though they had been touching and wrestling each other a moment ago, Will was naked under the water. It was a foolish thought, since Hannibal _lived_ naked, but he still felt strange at the thought that Hannibal had never seen another person naked except for Will in that moment, and much less touched.

Will put both hands on Hannibal’s shoulders and pushed him slightly up, to what Hannibal finally opened his eyes and turned around.

“What about we go out?”

Hannibal nodded, and went to the edge of the water, where he shook off like a dog, the hair separating into strands as it had been before, although now completely wet and combed. When he walked out of the water, Will stayed mesmerized at the sight of his broad back dripping water down, down to his rounded buttocks and further down to his muscular thighs and calves. Will forced himself to tear his gaze away and think of something else - _anything_ else that wasn’t Hannibal.

When he finally came out of the water, Hannibal was brushing his own hair with his fingers. He looked at him as Will walked to his pile of clothes, and he blushed as he gave his back to Hannibal and started getting dressed. He only put on his pants, though, throwing his shirt on his shoulders for when he wasn’t wet anymore.

Even though they had had breakfast not too long ago, Hannibal told Will with words and gestures that he was going to bring food. He left Will alone no longer than ten minutes, and since they still had fruit in the tree house from Hannibal’s last excursion, when he came back he only brought with him a couple of coconuts and a few dates. When Hannibal handed Will his coconut, Will moved it from one hand to the other, regretting leaving the backpack with his pocketknife in the tree house. He looked up to ask the man how were they supposed to eat it, and right then Hannibal hit his own coconut with a sharp stone. He rotated it and hit it again, and repeated it a third and a fourth time. And then he easily opened it in two halves, keeping most of the water in one of them. Will looked at him openmouthed, and Hannibal noticed his stare. He raised the stone, as if asking if Will wanted it, and he chuckled.

“Maybe you do it? I don’t think I can do _that_.”

Hannibal smirked and took his coconut, and repeated the process. When he handed Will the open fruit, he shook his head in amazement.

After eating, Hannibal started looking through the ground, and suddenly he picked up a twig, apparently satisfied with having found it, took it to the water, where he cleaned it, and then proceeded to start rubbing one of the edges against his teeth. Will observed him with unrestrained curiosity, realizing that _that_ was why Hannibal’s teeth looked all right despite having never known a toothbrush, apart from the fact that he didn’t eat the junk people usually ate; his teeth were slightly crooked, his fangs sharp, but nothing any person couldn’t have in the civilization. Will had seen Hannibal with a twig a couple of times while he had visited his camp, but he had thought it was something he played with, not a hygiene habit.

When they came back to the tree house, Will flopped down on the bed after the climb and sighed as he observed the patterns in the roof made of wood and reeds. When he noticed that Hannibal hadn’t followed him, he craned his neck and saw him frozen in the middle of the house. He was eyeing at Will with a contemplative look.

“Hannibal?” he asked, and he sat up a bit, propped on his elbow.

Hannibal finally approached him in his crouched position and climbed the bed but stayed at the edge of it.

“Will go camp… to- today?” Hannibal asked, remembering the word with difficulty. Will sat completely up then, and gave him a hesitant smile.

“I don’t… I don’t feel like going.”

Hannibal nodded, understanding, but Will felt a pang of pain in his chest. He knew he’d have to go to the camp and talk to Jack eventually, but he also knew what would happen when he did; with the prospect of seeing the gorillas now farther than ever, Jack would probably want to go. And he really, _really_ didn’t want to go… To leave Hannibal.

“Sad?” Hannibal asked when Will didn’t say anything for a long time, Hannibal scooted over and poked softly at Will’s arm. Will smiled despite himself.

“A little…”

“Why?”

Will looked up at him at the question. He thought about lying to him, but he didn’t quite like the idea, so he just sighed before answering.

“I… I don’t want to go.”

“Camp?”

“No, Hannibal, I don’t want to go from… here. Go _away_.”

Hannibal furrowed his brow and huffed through his nose, leaning back a little as if Will had offended him.

“Hey, I’m not leaving _right_ now. I’m here,” Will said, and he forced himself to smile as if to sooth Hannibal.

Hannibal didn’t seem very convinced by his words, and he looked away. Will reached out to touch him, but Hannibal moved his arm slightly away.

“Hannibal…”

“Will go,” Hannibal whispered, and looked back at him. His eyes were watery, and Will gasped, because it was his fault. “Hannibal… lost,” he said, and a couple of tears rolled down his cheeks.

In that moment, it hit Will what Hannibal was talking about; the story about the boy who couldn’t find his parents… the boy who was lost. Hannibal was telling Will that when he left him, he would be that boy.

“No, Hannibal, I…” he started saying, but his voice broke.

Hannibal’s shoulders slumped down, and it hurt Will a hundred times more to see the man like this, than his own pain at having to go.

He leaned in to try to touch him again, and this time Hannibal allowed it. Will took Hannibal’s face with a hand, gently making him turn to him, and he brushed the trail of his tear with his thumb. Hannibal’s eyes were so, _so_ sad…

“Hannibal, I don’t _want_ to leave you… You could… You could come with me?”

“Go?” he asked, and Will nodded. Hannibal shook his head. “Hannibal family,” he said, and he looked towards the door of the cabin. Will understood immediately that he meant his adoptive family, the gorillas he had put to safety the previous day. “Will stay…?”

Will smiled at Hannibal’s question when he looked at him again, but then he saw how serious the man was. His face was expectant and hopeful. When Will didn’t answer, Hannibal pulled himself up and sat on his heels.

“I take care,” Hannibal continued, pointing at himself with his knuckles.

“I know… Why are you so good with me?” Will whispered before he could stop himself.

Hannibal tipped his head and blinked.

“Hannibal…” he started, but he frowned, as if he didn’t know the word for what he wanted to say. He sighed angrily and shook his head. “Will mine. Will family. Stay?”

Will opened his mouth to reject it. To tell him the rational thing; that he couldn’t live in the jungle, without the commodities he was accustomed to, away from civilization. But in that moment, he wondered why not. He had lived in the jungle before for long periods of time, and he had been living there for over two months now; there was food, water, the tree house, the things he had brought with him to the expedition… And the most important thing: he _really_ didn’t want to leave Hannibal.

“Will?” Hannibal asked, searching Will’s gaze.

Will locked his eyes on Hannibal’s, and then he knew he had made his decision. Maybe he had made it a long time ago.

“Yes?”

Hannibal’s eyes widened, and Will’s lips turned upwards.

“Will… stay?”

“Yes,” Will repeated, this time more convinced and grinning.

He chuckled, and felt light headed at the decision he had just made. Hannibal gave a loud noise that Will recognized as a cheerful cry that he had heard in gorillas before. Will laughed even more when the man began bouncing and rolling around the room as he howled happily, and finally returned to Will, jumping over him. The movement threw Will down, and they rolled over the bed, Will ending up under him, where he writhed as he laughed. When Hannibal finally stopped moving and Will opened his eyes, he took the few strands of Hannibal’s long hair that had fallen around his face and brushed them back, tucking them behind his ear. Once he did that, he simply observed Hannibal’s face. The man was _so_ impossibly beautiful; he had bowed, slightly pouted lips, sharp cheekbones that gave his features an even wilder demeanor, although not a threatening one, the thick beard streaked with gray hair on his chin, the beautiful hazel, almost feline eyes… Will realized he had been staring at the same time he noticed Hannibal was doing the same, feeling his gaze across his face like a caress.

Hannibal’s eyes stopped at Will’s lips, and then parted his own slightly and breathed in and out quietly. And Will just stopped thinking as he craned his neck up and kissed Hannibal on the mouth. Hannibal immediately pulled back startled, and only then did Will realize what he had just done.

“Oh god!” he said, covering his own mouth.

Hannibal straightened and sat back on his heels, his eyes wide open and staring at Will. He sat up too, raising both hands to him as if to show him that he wasn’t going to do anything to him.

“I’m… Hannibal, I’m so sorry, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that. Forgive me, please-”

“Kiss?”

The shy, whispered question silenced him. Will blinked and looked at Hannibal’s face again, and only then did he realized that Hannibal was _not_ scared. He was confused, and probably a little startled, but he tilted his head and his eyes traveled from Will’s own to his lips. Hannibal slowly raised a hand and touched Will’s lower lip gently with his forefinger. Will gasped as the man ran his finger across it.

“Kiss…?” Hannibal asked again, looking him in the eye as he dropped his hand.

Will remembered when he had taught Hannibal about relationships. He had drawn different things and explained to him family, friendship, enemies… and romantic relationships. Will had focused on the first ones, but Hannibal had asked what the people on Will’s drawing were doing; in the first sketch one of them kissing the back of the other’s hand, and in the next question doing the same in the other’s lips. Still, he hadn’t thought Hannibal had absorbed too much from them, and yet…

“I… yes,” Will nodded. “But, I’m sorry, I didn’t want to k- Well, that’s a lie,” he admonished himself. “I didn’t want to… scare you. I’m sorry.”

Hannibal stayed very still, simply observing Will. His eyes traveled from Will’s to his lips, and back to his eyes, over and over, all the while his chest was going up and down rapidly, heaving. Will swallowed, not wanting to move even a muscle, but he didn’t have to, because it was Hannibal the one to move first. He did it very slowly, and Will simply observed him as the man moved towards him, their faces very close… When their noses were almost touching, Will let out a faltering breath he had been holding on, and Hannibal finally leaned in. At first, Hannibal simply pressed his lips against Will’s, probably imitating what Will had done. When he pulled back for a second and leaned in again, Will dared to move then; he tilted his head to adjust the angle and moved his lips against Hannibal’s as his eyes fluttered close. It was amazing how, despite not having kissed ever, the kiss immediately felt good, Hannibal’s lips moving out of instinct, his beard tickling Will’s chin in the best possible way. When he felt Hannibal relaxing against him, Will parted his lips slightly, and he sucked tentatively Hannibal’s lip. And when in the next kiss he licked into his mouth, encouraged by the man’s growing press towards him, Hannibal groaned as an answer and pushed further into the kiss. Will smiled against his lips when he also felt one of Hannibal’s hands gripping his shirt, and he pulled back breathless and feeling light-headed with happiness.

Hannibal looked at him open-mouthed as he caught his breath too, and he tilted his head.

“Okay?” Hannibal asked in a hesitant voice, and that made Will grin.

He raised his hand and touched Hannibal’s bearded cheek, and he nodded.

“Yes, very much okay…”

Hannibal smirked then, and he moved towards him. He pressed his forehead against Will’s, nuzzling against him as he had done before. But that time, Hannibal pushed him slowly backwards, and Will lay down happily under him, circling his naked back with both arms and pulling him closer as soon as he touched the heap of cloths that was the bed with his back.

Hannibal didn’t kiss him again, though. He crawled down his body and pressed his mouth and nose against Will’s clothed chest. He was inhaling, and Will wondered how developed Hannibal’s sense of smell would be, if he could smell in him the arousal that he undoubtedly was feeling… And then, that thought and Hannibal’s face descending to his belly made him put both hands on his shoulder to push him away as he sat up.

“Wait, no, no…”

“No?” Hannibal asked with his brow furrowed in utter confusion.

Will bit his lower lip and touched Hannibal’s chest with a finger.

“Do… Do you _want_ this?”

“Want?” Hannibal asked, and Will nodded. “I want.”

“Are you… sure?” Will asked again, just in case.

“I want,” Hannibal repeated more firmly, and he approached him, making him lay down again with the movement. Hannibal descended and moved closer to Will’s neck. “I want.”

Hannibal inhaled again, and Will felt a shiver going down his back as he moaned. And then, Hannibal bit him down right in the joint between his neck and shoulder, not hard enough to hurt him or break skin, but maybe enough to leave a mark for a few days. He cried out in surprise, but not an unpleasant one at all. He buried his fingers in the skin between Hannibal’s shoulder blades and arched his back, and he felt Hannibal’s erection against his groin. Hannibal pulled back then, and Will panted as the man licked his lips and looked down between them. Will wondered if he was surprised at his own erection, but that couldn’t be it; he may have lived in the jungle away from everyone else, but Hannibal must’ve had masturbated many times before. The man sat up a little, locking his gaze on Will… and then he felt Hannibal’s hand over Will’s erection, and he gasped. It was just a gentle contact, his palm not pressing down as Will right now wished it were, but simply _feeling_ it. And then Hannibal looked at him wide-eyed.

“Same,” he whispered.

Will burrowed his brow for a moment, his mind not registering what he meant while he was still _touching_ him, but then he understood. That he and Hannibal _were_ the same… Despite Hannibal having seen Will naked that very same day, it had been only briefly, but now he _knew_ they were equals.

Will nodded and smiled as he sat up. He took off his shirt again to mirror part of Hannibal’s nudity, and he supported himself on the heel of his hands.

“Same,” he nodded again.

Hannibal’s eyes traveled down to his chest, and the smirk returned to his lips as he leaned in. Will breathed out and smiled when Hannibal buried his face in the crook of Will’s neck, where he inhaled and groaned again, and they both lay down again as Hannibal started nosing down Will’s bare collarbones, Hannibal’s body blanketing him but their bodies still not touching completely. Will wrapped his arms around Hannibal’s body as the man’s hands came to rest at their sides, pushing him down into the cloths… and then Hannibal pressed their bodies flush, and Will moaned deeply. When he started swaying his hips in short thrusts, Will feeling Hannibal’s erection against his through his clothes, he raked his nails a little on Hannibal’s back. But despite it feeling so good, he needed, _wanted_ more.

“Wait, Hannibal. Wait…” he said, and he pushed him slightly back.

Will lifted his hips to push his pants down before Hannibal’s confused and attentive gaze. When they were on his thighs, he sat up and took his boots and the clothes off in hurried tugs. Once everything was aside, he looked back at Hannibal, and that time the man didn’t lose any time to jump on him, pressing their bodies together again as they lay down again, this time with nothing between them. Will spread his legs so Hannibal’s hips slotted into him, their bodies fitting together. He circled Hannibal’s back again with both arms and moaned as Hannibal tucked his face beside Will’s, breathing hard into his neck as he started moving his hips instinctively. Will’s head spun at the slide of both of their erections together, both of their precome making it easier. He could feel Hannibal’s heavy breaths and deep moans against the skin of his shoulder, the hair on the man’s chest against his skin, the muscles of his back moving beneath Will’s hands, every single part of their skin touching the other’s… It was slightly clumsy, but primal, and utterly amazing. And then Will needed just a little bit more.

He tapped Hannibal’s arm so he would pull slightly back, which he did, although didn’t look very happy at the prospect of stopping. But Will merely slid a hand between their bodies and grabbed both of their erections. Hannibal gasped and his stomach clenched for a second. Their cocks were _so_ different, Hannibal’s slightly smaller but thicker, darker, and uncut, unlike Will’s. He looked back at Hannibal’s face and saw the lust in his half-closed eyes, and so he began moving his hand. Hannibal let out a long moan and let himself fall down against Will, though he kept his hips slightly raised so Will could keep moving. Will set his free hand on Hannibal’s side, and when the man started swaying his hips again, he gripped the skin there and encouraged him to move further.

They groaned at the same time when the slick of both of their erections gliding together in Will’s hand became too much, too good. Will felt himself already on the brink, his toes curling, and threw his head backwards. Will felt Hannibal’s lips on his neck again and he knew what he was going to do, but still when Hannibal bit into his skin, this time gentler than the first one, Will arched his back and came into his hand and stomach.

Will wrapped his hand only around Hannibal’s erection as he was still feeling the ripples of his own orgasm. The man gasped against his skin and mouthed under Will’s jaw. He felt Hannibal tightening his muscles, the swaying of his hips becoming irregular and sloppy, and he came with a low groan, spilling over Will’s stomach.

Hannibal collapsed on top of Will, but he knew he was leaning most of his body weight onto the side he had on the bed, not on him.

Will chuckled then, and Hannibal looked up with his eyebrows arched.

“Okay?”

“Oh yeah…” Will said, and when Hannibal smirked, he blushed despite what they had just done.

Hannibal pushed himself up and nosed at Will’s neck and jaw. He laughed at the contact, and when Hannibal aligned his lips with Will’s, he simply cradled the man’s nape and pulled him down for a slow kiss.

After resting a bit, Will went to his backpack and retrieved his bottle of water, which he used to wet his own shirt and clean their mess. Hannibal stayed still as Will rubbed the garment across his stomach.

“I definitely will have to get clean clothes tomorrow from my tent,” he half-joked, even though it was completely true.

When he discarded the shirt and turned to Hannibal again, he suddenly felt self-conscious about how _naked_ they both were. He had managed to get somewhat used to Hannibal’s nudity, but now it was different. Now it was _more_ , and now he was naked, too. He felt himself flushing from the chest up, and he looked away. Hannibal sat up and put his hand under his chin, making him look up delicately.

“Will…” Hannibal started, but he frowned, struggling to find the right word.

“What?” Will asked, enthralled with the man’s face.

“Beautiful?” Hannibal asked in a hopeful tone of voice.

That was far from helping with his blushing, but he nodded at the right word and smiled, taking Hannibal’s hand with his, only to lean in and kiss him, pushing him into the heap of cloth.

They slept that night in a tangle of limbs and completely naked. Will became more confident without clothes as the day went by and Hannibal’s gaze grew even fonder, his hands seeking Will’s skin at all times. When they lay that night together in bed, Hannibal fell asleep quickly in his hands. It took Will a little longer, not entirely able to believe what he was going to do, what he would do tomorrow. He was going to stay here, with Hannibal… and while a decision like this should’ve terrified him, or at least make him have second thoughts, he only felt peace with his hands wrapped around Hannibal’s waist, the man’s breathing rocking him until his eyes finally closed.

The next morning, Will woke up to something brushing his neck. At first, he swung his hand, still asleep, and hit something way more solid than a bug or something that could be tickling him. He opened his eyes and turned to see Hannibal propped on his elbow and smiling down at him with still half asleep eyes. Will grinned too, and he turned around to bury his face into Hannibal’s shoulder as he hugged him. He was _so_ warm, and when he inhaled deeply, he smelled the mixed scent of both of them, musky and sweet and so entirely pleasant, and he hummed affectionately.

While they ate breakfast, this time the last two protein bars Will had packed, which Hannibal seemed to be enjoying after all, Will observed the man, the strands of hair falling across the side of his face, and he remembered how shocking Will had found the man when he had seen him at first.

“Do you remember when we met?” Will asked, and Hannibal looked up and tilted his head. “The first time we saw each other… when you saved me from the baboons.”

Hannibal understood then, and he nodded.

“The only word you knew then was… your name. I’ve been wondering why ever since. Maybe your family taught you a little bit before… dying,” he said, and he looked up to see if he had made a mistake bringing that up. Hannibal’s shoulders deflated a little, but he didn’t look sad. “Maybe it’s a memory that you somehow kept… I don’t know. But I never told you… I like it. Hannibal,” he said, drawing out the vocals.

Hannibal smiled then, and scooted closer to Will on the platform, where they were sitting.

“Will…” he said, imitating playfully Will’s tone.

He pointed his finger at Will’s chest, and poked him softly. Will remembered instantly that it was what _he_ had done when he had first encountered Hannibal. He had pointed at himself and repeated his name over and over, hoping the man would understand… and then Hannibal had pointed at himself with his knuckles, opened his mouth and said his name. It had been a surprise as big as the man’s existence.

After breakfast, having put on his pants, boots and the hat he had left in the tree house – since his shirt was useless after the night before -, they repeated the process of Will getting on Hannibal’s back, and climbing down like that.

“If I’m going to stay…” Will said once they were on the ground, and he leaned against the tree for support. “I swear I’ll learn how to climb down on my own.” Hannibal snorted and smirked, and Will frowned. “Hey, I can try!”

Hannibal laughed in earnest, and when Will jumped to him. Hannibal ran away, and they chased each other playfully across the jungle.

After the long walk to his camp, when they arrived it shocked Will how everything was exactly as he had left it. It had been just a couple of days, but so much had happened, that he had almost expected to see it completely changed. Hannibal stayed outside the tent, poking through Will’s things as always, while he changed into new clothes inside. When he went out, Hannibal had put on Will’s hat again and grinned at him, and he huffed out and rolled his eyes, fighting a fond smile that made his way to his lips anyway.

They walked across the jungle to the other camp as always, Hannibal crouched behind him and silent as a cat. When he reached the expedition’s camp, he didn’t turn around, as he knew Hannibal would be already watching him from above, or hidden in the bushes. But when Jimmy and Brian turned at his entrance, their eyes went wide as they gazed at him. Will stopped and looked down, but he didn’t understand what was happening until he turned around; Hannibal was right there, behind him. He wasn’t smiling anymore; instead, he had a serious and cautious expression, his eyes observing everything and everyone around him, as if he was deciding whether they were a menace.

“Are you coming with me?” Will whispered to him.

Hannibal looked at him and nodded just once. Will took a deep breath, wishing he could help him feel better as he started walking into the camp. Beverly came out of her tent and ran towards him as soon as he saw him, but when she was close enough, Hannibal stood up beside him and growled at her. Will put a hand on Hannibal’s stomach as Beverly froze on the spot, not having seen him at first.

“Hey, no. She’s a friend, okay?” Will told him.

The growl stopped, and Hannibal nodded again, as if he was wary of using words in front of the rest. He relaxed a little and crouched, and Will looked up at Beverly and smiled.

“I’m… glad you’re okay. Jack told us what happened,” she said, looking around her, and then she leaned a little closer. “I’m glad those guys left and nothing happened in the end.”

Will thanked her, but when he was going to keep talking, Jack’s tent opened. They locked gazes across the camp, and Jack didn’t need to tell him anything or beckon him to get closer. Will took a deep breath, and then turned to Hannibal.

“Can you… stay? I’ll be back in a moment,” Will told him.

Hannibal looked at Jack past Will, and when he focused on him, he nodded once again. He didn’t seem nervous or uncomfortable anymore, so Will didn’t feel bad when he turned and walked towards Jack, leaving Hannibal in the camp with the rest.

As soon as Will reached Jack, they walked side by side away from the camp, towards the beach.

“Are the animals all right?” Jack asked after a moment of silence, and he sounded actually concerned.

Will pocketed his hands in cargo shorts and sighed. “Yeah. I don’t know where they are, but I know they’re safe.”

“There isn’t any possibility to see them now, is there?”

They came to a stop just as they were reaching the sand. It was amazing how the world turned from a dark brown and a deep, bright green inside the jungle, to the clear brown of the beach and the intense blue of the water.

“They… were receptive to me. They aren’t- or _weren’t_ scared of humans when I saw them,” he said, and he saw the way Jack’s brow twitched, dying to ask him a million questions about them. “Maybe in the future, Jack… but not right now. I don’t want to expose them to humans yet. You know what will happen to them, what _almost_ happened to them.”

Jack looked into the sea, and let out a long, deep breath. And then, he nodded.

“I know. You do know that we have to go, right? I may have hired the mercenaries, but the extra funds are going away without results. I wasn’t lying about that.”

“Yeah, I already guessed…” Will said, and he felt his heart beating too quickly inside his chest for what he was about to say. “Jack, I… I’m going to stay.”

In the way from the tree house, Will had imagined that conversation multiple times. He had imagined Jack screaming at him, laughing at him, telling him he was crazy… what he had not expected, at all, was for the man to purse his lips and nod.

“Are you sure?” Jack asked.

Will blinked at the answer, because it sounded as if he already expected it.

“I… yes. I want to be here,” he said. “I could… I could study them, and keep sending reports, and maybe one day, you guys could come back and study them without harming them. When they’re ready…”

“Okay,” Jack said, and Will looked at him with his jaw hanging open.

“O- okay? That’s it?”

“What, you’re going to complain for agreeing with you, too?” Jack asked, and he laughed.

Will smiled too, immensely relieved that this was how this conversation was going.

“Will, I knew you’d want to stay as soon as I saw you with him,” Jack said, putting a hand on Will’s shoulder and nodding back at the camp.

In the distance, Will saw Hannibal playing with what looked like another hat. Beverly was working on her table, and she turned and pretended to be shocked at him. Hannibal ran away with the hat, which made Will smile before turning to Jack again.

“Don’t worry, because… I actually can afford to keep one man here. _If_ you want to keep working for me… you’ll have total freedom here, you’ll be able to take as much time as you want to study them. And we’ll see how we can bring you stuff here, maybe every couple of months…?”

Will stayed silent, bewildered at the proposal, and Jack simply offered him his hand between them. That time, when Will shook his hand, it didn’t feel at all like a mistake, as it had felt when he had started working for him.

“Thank you, Jack. For… doing what was right, in the end,” Will said, and Jack nodded.

When they returned to the camp, Hannibal was indeed playing around, much more comfortable than he had been at the beginning. Beverly was sitting in his chair and pretending she didn’t see Hannibal stealing her pen, but when she suddenly turned, Hannibal took it and smiled victoriously as he hopped backwards.

Will approached them and Hannibal stood up from his crouched position, grinning at him.

“Funny,” Hannibal said, and he looked at Beverly.

“I know, isn’t she?” Will said, and smiled at her.

Beverly looked adoringly at Hannibal, and for a second, he almost wished she didn’t have to go away with the rest of the expedition.

Hannibal gave her the pen and hat back, and walked in the direction of Will’s camp while he talked to Beverly, telling her the news. She hugged him when he told her he was staying, and when he turned to Hannibal, he was waiting for him with a smile on his lips.

That afternoon, they stayed in Will’s camp. He began to tidy up his camp and separate out the things he could keep, and the things he wouldn’t need here. He would definitely be keeping things like the bed and some of the furniture, even though he wasn’t sure _where_.

When he decided to stop sorting through the things in his bag for the day, he sighed and turned around, and stayed right where he was; Hannibal was standing beside the bed, and he was wearing Will’s hat, his cargo pants and one of his shirts unbuttoned, and on backwards. He hadn’t buttoned the pants, either, so they were riding low on his hips, his pubic hair showing a little above the waist of the garment. Will felt himself blushing instantly, the inside of the tent suddenly too hot.

“Okay?” Hannibal asked with a smirk and a tilt of his head that made the longer strands of his hair swing over his bare chest.

“Hmwhat?”

Will blinked and focused on his face, and Hannibal snorted a little.

“Beautiful?”

“Oh. Y-yes. You’re… very handsome. _Beautiful_.”

He approached the bed and sat on the edge, and Hannibal did the same, now smiling, knowing too well how _he_ was causing the fluttering of Will’s heart. Hannibal took off the hat and leaned in, his mouth very close to Will’s neck, where he inhaled as he usually did. Will let out a faltering sigh, and he smiled as he pushed Hannibal away with both hands on his shoulders.

“I like that you want to try these on, but… maybe take them off now?”

Hannibal grinned widely, and he took off the shirt in two clumsy pulls, discarding it at the feet of the bed. When he turned to Will, he leaned closer, but he paused, his eyes going across Will’s face until they stopped at his lips. Hannibal licked his own but didn’t move further, as if he weren’t sure whether he was allowed to kiss him again, and a warm, tickling feeling traveled from Will’s chest down to his belly.

Will was the one to lean in that time, taking Hannibal’s face between his hands and kissing him ever so gently, slowly sucking on his lower lip before parting his lips in earnest and slipping his tongue past Hannibal’s. The man groaned at that, and his arms finally moved, wrapping Will and pulling him up only to turn both of them around and push Will onto the mattress.

“Beautiful…” Hannibal breathed.

Will smiled at him and ran his hand across his cheek before Hannibal relaxed his body on top of him, pressing their bodies flush. Will could feel Hannibal everywhere, and he didn’t want to feel anything else ever again. He surrounded him with both arms and pulled him down for another kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter ended up being longer than I thought, so I first thought about splitting it in two chapters, but decided to stick to the four chapters in the end ^^
> 
> THANK YOU to everyone who has read this!!! I'm still amazed at the response, and incredibly happy that you guys liked this so much!!?? I hope the ending doesn't disappoint! ^^
> 
>  
> 
> Remember to also give love for this idea to @ teacupsmasher and @ camilleflyingrotten on twitter, and see the amazing arts of Camille!! (all links on the fic's notes).

**Author's Note:**

> All information + links about my writing are [here](https://about.me/mizumohno).
> 
> Say hello to me @ [twitter](https://twitter.com/mizumohno) and [tumblr](http://starkaryen.tumblr.com/) :)


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